What’s a song you hate?

I mean really. You hate it. Detest it. Can’t stand it for a second.

I’m a music lover, so this is a tough one for me. (Equally hard would be to choose my favorite song. There are so many.) Are there songs that prompt me to hit “fast forward” or scan for another station? Sure. But do I hate them? Well, let’s not be so harsh …

Today’s make something prompt pushed me to decide. “Pick a piece of music you love (or hate) and use it as the inspiration for today’s piece.”

There is one popular song that really gets under my skin. But I have so much baggage attached to this song, I didn’t want to spend my time letting it influence my creativity.

So I searched my singing past.

For as long as I can remember, I have hated “99 Bottles of  Beer on the Wall.” Of course I sang it. Didn’t you? On school buses. In backseats. Out of sheer silliness.

But it’s not a good tune. The lyrics are useless. And it goes on … well, far too long.

So today I rewrote it. At least now it’s got a lesson for writers like me:

Ninety-nine needless words on the page
Ninety-nine needless words
Edit one out
And read it again …

Ninety-eight needless words on the page
Ninety-eight needless words
Edit one out
And read it again …

Ninety-seven needless words on the page
Ninety-seven needless words
Edit one out
And read it again …

Ninety-six needless words on the page
Ninety-six needless words …

I think you get the idea.